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Nacra-Ridge-Line

I thought I might share this with ya'll. I hear about many of you liking a ridge line you can remove and flip the hammock over or have one you can adjust to the right length. Here is an idea that allows you to have a non-structural (or heck, you could probably make a structural one too) that you can do an easy on/off without the need for a biner which can add weight, or make bulk be somewhat of an issue when you want to pass the ridge through sock loops like I do...

This thread: Loop Shackles/Connectors aka The Nacrabiner has changed my life. I've used the Nacrabiner concept to make 2 gram underquilt suspensions, key rings, tarp connectors for the ridge-line, sternum straps for packs, etc. I think you get the idea - the concept is VERY useful.

My original ridge-line for the tarp used a nacrabiner shackle, but the cord wasn't heavy duty enough, it couldn't be spliced, and the failure point ended up being at a knot I had to use to make the connections to the suspension. In a bid to fix these issues I hit on this idea: Nacra ridge.

The ridge is 1.75mm utility line from Arrowhead Equipment The ends of my ridge are spliced eyes that loop over the UCR suspension. The bottom part of the ridge is the main part of the line, it is about 87" long, it took about 90" to make that section. The top end is about 6" long before making the knot. It took about 9" of line to make that end. Originally the ridge was going to have a mini biner to join two halves at the end eyes, but I found after making it the stress was a little too much on the little biner and the length was a little too long. So I hit on the idea of passing the short end of the ridge through the long end of the ridge and shortening the length until I found the right feel. That got my ridge down to 92" total. I was thinking of adding a toggle to the system, but then thought: why not just use a stopper knot?

So a figure 8 stopper went on the short cord to hold the correct length. Now the end has a loop in it that is about 2" below the knot, makes it easy to find when I want to undo the cord. And at ~99" of this cord, the entire ridge weighs ~4 grams - that is 0.14oz.

It's been working like a charm. Even a non-structural ridge-line sometimes supports some load, and this has been the ticket for me. Thanks to Nacra533 for that thread.

...Here is an idea that allows you to have a non-structural (or heck, you could probably make a structural one too) that you can do an easy on/off without the need for a biner which can add weight, or make bulk be somewhat of an issue when you want to pass the ridge through sock loops like I do...

Thanks for posting the details. When I first saw the nacrabiner I saw this very application as the most promising for my set-up, and so was the first use I put to the nacrabiner.

The problem for me was (is...) that if the ridgeline is acting structural then it has tension on it. And opening up a nacrabiner that is under tension is a PITA. In this application taking the tension off the nacrabiner to open it is a PITA.

So I'm using the nacrabiner for applications where either it is not under much tension, or it is easy to ease the tension off to open it. Using a slider knot like TeeDee/TiredFeet to close and open the loop is an potential solution; while I've done it, I don't have enough experience with it to gain the confidence that it won't ever open.

When I first laid hands on a Dutch Biner, I said "Ah-ha! Here's the ridgeline connection solution for me." Weighs a little more, but I can rig up a removable ridgeline using just one of them. And open that biner under tension.

For me the little zing it nacrabiners are too fiddly. I need my glasses to see whats hapenin' with the knot/loop.
Cold fingers are only going to compound the issue.
For a detachable hammock ridge, I'm going to a amsteel 1/8th" soft shackle. the extra 1,000ths of a gram won't kill me.

Grizz - we use the "slider knot" on our suspension. The Lanyard knot on the Bridge suspension triangle ends are slipped into the fixed eyes on the arc cord ends and secured using the Solomon Bar. The Lanyard knot at the top of the suspension triangle is then slipped into the fixed eyes of the suspension whoopie slings, again with the Solomon Bar to secure the lanyard knot.

Since it is easy to adjust the "tension" of the Solomon Bar as you tie it, you can make the Solomon very easy to slide or very hard to slide depending on the tension used to tie it. We tend to tie the Solomon Bar very tight and thus very hard to slide in those places where we very seldom have any reason to loosen the Solomon Bar such as the ones that secure the suspension triangle to the fixed eyes on the ends of the arc cords. Similarly we tie the Solomon Bar somewhat looser in those places where we slide it a lot such as for those which secure the Lanyard Knots at the apex of the suspension triangle which are inserted in the fixed eyes of the suspension whoopie slings.

We have never had any problem with any of the Solomon Bars moving under load, even those which we tied too loosely.

Most of the Solomon Bar knots we use to secure something in fixed eyes are subjected to very low loads which tend to spread the eye apart. They are usually used to secure Lanyard Knots on another rope into the eye.

However, we also use the Solomon Bar to secure the Bridge Hammock spreader bar webbing pockets in the fixed eyes on the ends of the arc cords. The webbing pockets probably exert more force which is in the direction of spreading the eye apart than any other application. Those Solomon Bar knots we tie so that they are easy to slide since they are moved whenever an under quilt, bug netting or over cover is used on the Bridge Hammock. This arrangement has been under daily use for many months and we have never experienced any of the Solomon bars moving under load.

So as far as we can tell, the Solomon Bar used to secure the fixed eye or the nacrabiner (where we use the bar a lot) is very secure.

As for the Solomon Bar sliding when packed? I don't think that would be a problem unless the bar caught on something when being packed or unpacked and the person doing the packing or unpacking pushed or pulled very hard.

But that is just our experience.

Originally Posted by GrizzlyAdams

Thanks for posting the details. When I first saw the nacrabiner I saw this very application as the most promising for my set-up, and so was the first use I put to the nacrabiner.

The problem for me was (is...) that if the ridgeline is acting structural then it has tension on it. And opening up a nacrabiner that is under tension is a PITA. In this application taking the tension off the nacrabiner to open it is a PITA.

So I'm using the nacrabiner for applications where either it is not under much tension, or it is easy to ease the tension off to open it. Using a slider knot like TeeDee/TiredFeet to close and open the loop is an potential solution; while I've done it, I don't have enough experience with it to gain the confidence that it won't ever open.

When I first laid hands on a Dutch Biner, I said "Ah-ha! Here's the ridgeline connection solution for me." Weighs a little more, but I can rig up a removable ridgeline using just one of them. And open that biner under tension.

I currently use a nacra on my tarp ridgline when securing my tarp to the first tree. I just tie a bowline in my tarp ridgeline that i use in conjunction with the nacra. I wrap around the first tree and secure the loop in the nacra prussic, secure the other end with a fig 9. Im thinking of replacing the nacra prussic with a mini biner, and also setting up my hammock tree straps with dutch biners instead of using nacras to connect the hugger to the whoppie sling. This way i will leave my slings attached to the hugger permanently(with nacras), just wrap the hugger and clip it onto itself with the biner. For me this is much faster than wrapping the hugger around the tree, threading one loop through the other, and attaching the sling to the hugger via nacra biner(fidly). Overall if i add 2 dutch clips i should pickup about .6oz, but everything in my pack minus food and water is less than 11lbs in summer so it doesn't really matter anymore, and that will make my setup super fast.

I love nacras too, but they are fidly, as one poster stated, and the longer im out there the less fidly im inclined to be. So i'll just pickup an extra .6oz and use 2 dutch clips instead of nacras for the hammock suspension.